


Oops I died

by KitkatAndCocoa



Category: Unidentified Fandom
Genre: Alex PROTECC, Alex dies, Alex loves Gale, Even In Death, F/M, Gale loves Alex, Mirrors reveal everything, They both have dragon necklaces, magic gifts, spoiler alert lol, spook - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:54:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25267927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitkatAndCocoa/pseuds/KitkatAndCocoa
Summary: Gale lost contact with Alex.It's been a month or so.Angels protecc
Relationships: Gale/Alex





	Oops I died

Gale heard an insistent meowing from next to his ear as he was torn from his sleep. He moved his sluggish hand over to the meowing, and a cold wet nose booped it, giving his hand a lick from the rough tongue before the meowing resumed. “I’m getting up, Nik,” he mumbled, opening his eyes and immediately closing them as the light shining in through his thin, closed drapes blinded him for a second before his eyes adjusted. He sat up, blinking in the early morning light, scratching behind the ears of a small tuxedo cat. “I’m up, I’ll get you some food,” he said, throwing his legs off of the side of the bed and climbing to his feet, hearing his cat’s meows fade a little as he jumped off of the bed and scrambled into the kitchen. Gale walked into the carpeted hall and followed the end of his cat’s black tail with a white tip around the corner into the tile-floored kitchen, sliding a little on his socks as he walked over to the white countertop, bending down and opening a cabinet with a bit of effort. “Thing always gets stuck,” he said to himself as he stood up, taking out a butter knife and prying up the tab on the can of wet food he had taken out. He heard a thump as his cat jumped onto the counter, eager for his food. “I’m working on it,” he chuckled. “Hold your horses, Nikolai.” He mashed the food and put it in a dish, setting it down on the floor. The cat bumped Gale’s free hand before he jumped down to feast on his breakfast. Gale, meanwhile, went to the fridge and took out a cheese stick, peeling it open with some difficulty and eating it as he went to the couch. He idly wondered how Alex was doing. He hadn’t heard from her yesterday, though he figured she was busy with other things. And he didn’t want to bother or wake her by calling before it was even 6 o’clock. So he pulled out a book and started reading to pass the time.

Sick. It was the only word she could think of in her muddled mind at the time to explain how she was feeling. Clammy hands, cold- almost numb fingers. Her body was trembling from hot and cold flashes, and when she slumped into the bathroom, her mirror showed that her lips were purple and she looked like the dead. Her skin was tinted gray, and her breaths came out in shuddery spasms. She slumped down to her knees, a wave of agony riddling through her core as she hacked up ruby red liquid thicker than putty from her mouth to the cold tile floor. The bathroom spun around her, and before she knew it, she was curled on her side on the ground, and everything came to a whining halt. Her pulse slowed, and her eyes closed with the fleeting thought of,  _ maybe I’ll get sleep this time.  _ If only she had known. The bathroom door remained locked, and her bedroom closed. Her apartment was never opened by someone curious or wondering why she had never come back out of that door. 

Payment, atonement, sacrifice. Alex knew these too well. As the gatekeeper explained what was going on, she found herself scowling.    
“I don’t want to be here! I’m not done with- well, everything!” Alex protested, people she cared about and things she wanted to do flashing through her mind. Her pearly set of white wings flared out at her temper reaching its peak so suddenly. The gatekeeper didn’t look surprised. They simply took Alex’s halo from her head and cracked it in half.    
“So be it. By thine, you are  _ banished _ .”    
  
She remembered falling. 

Down.

Down.

Down.

Down.

Down.

Down.

Down.

Air whipping through and around her. 

Her stomach flew into her throat.

HURT. 

Then she hit the dirt in a forest clearing, sending debris flying in every direction. Alex felt a strong urge in her chest. She noticed a glowing, and a faint squiggly line that led into the woods ahead of her. She coughed, dirt rolling off her wings and shoulders. HER WINGS- Alex checked them, and found they hadn’t exceeded a few scratches for damage. She breathed. Okay. Now, follow that pretty string of light. She noticed it was connected to her dragon necklace, which she was still wearing. Her eyes narrowed. Interesting. She was already gathering theories as she started running in the direction of where her necklace’s light was leading her. 

Gale’s necklace, a little battered from his incessant chewing on it when he was nervous, hung around his neck, and he didn’t notice how it twitched a little, scratching at the area the dragon was hanging by. He tucked it into his shirt as he sat down in the driver’s seat of his old and beat up 2012 Nissan Versa, a hand-me-down from his mother when he moved out. Thing was as old as his brother, but it still handled well, and he ignored the ominous chattering he felt beneath him as he pulled out. He couldn’t really afford to take it to a mechanic, so he just hoped it wouldn’t break while he was on the highway or a busy street. He drove to the bar he worked at, Sorry Shingles, and pulled into the parking lot, locking his car, once again wondering where the cover for the door handle had gone. He mentally shrugged and went to the squat brown brick bar, smiling as he saw Henry. “How ya doing?” he asked as he went behind the counter, glancing out at the eating area and around the counter. It was slow, like most bars were before lunch.

“Pretty okay, though something’ll go wrong,” Henry said. “Said it in the papers.”

“Got it. I’ll prepare for it,” Gale replied as he disregarded the warning like usual. He resisted the urge to laugh as he remembered the times Henry had called to take a day off because the daily horoscope said something terrible would happen to him. “What did mine say?”

“To watch out for sickness and that tragedy will strike,” Henry said as he washed the countertop. Gale resisted the urge to overdramatically cough or sneeze and pretend to die. Henry didn’t take those jokes well.

“Anything interesting happen yet?” He changed the subject as he moved behind the counter, glancing up at the clock. 9:53, early like usual.

“Veto tried to break free from his leash,” Henry said. 

“He saw a squirrel, or an old man?” Gale asked with a smile.

“Squirrel, that only happened once, and the old man was  _ fine _ ,” Henry snorted as he continued cleaning. Gale moved to his half of the bar, waiting for the customers to start coming in. He reached up and fidgeted with his necklace through the shirt, wondering why it felt uncomfortable today.

Alex felt like she was flying, but her feet were millimeters off the ground. In fact, she was running so fast that she barely felt the strange fluidness of trees moving  _ through  _ her. Yes, she noticed quickly that she was similar to a ghost, however it was more like putting something inside and/or outside a bubble. There was a tad of resistance. Yet her urge to follow this line of light, which had faded into a red hue, was strong enough that she didn’t stop to ponder. Her wings flared out, and caught air, and from how fast she had been inhumanly running to her surprise she was off the ground in no time. She lifted her wings at their full span and flapped twice, and she rose above the leafy treeline and up into the clear blue sky. She took a second to breathe, the feeling of cool fresh air flowing through and around her feathers a welcoming experience. Gale, however, had his feet planted firmly on the ground, thankfully for his nerves, and he was helping someone who had definitely not skipped work early to avoid the lunch rush. “Okay, so you want a bacon cheeseburger, extra bacon, and no cheese?” he asked, a little unsure. He wondered if it’d be considered impolite to inform him that there were normal burgers.

“Yes, thank you,” the man said, drinking from a bottle of beer. 

“Be right back with your meal, sir,” Gale nodded, just writing ‘ _ Xtra bacon burger _ ’ on his notepad before he rushed to the kitchen to inform the cooks. He didn’t really start his bartending until 4, when business started to pick up and more alcohol was being ordered. He gave the order to the cooks, then went back to the front to help seat people, though he knew he had a good half hour until business really started booming.

Entering the busier city startled Alex, and she slowed to a hover high up in the skies. Her eyes scanned the below streets and rooftops, and she slowly angled her wings to get a better look. The line of light leading her dipped down sharply ahead, and her eyes narrowed. Powering forward with a few strong flaps of her white wings she dove down in a spiral dip, the wind screaming past her body as her wings pinned themselves to her sides in an effort to not be ripped off. Then she opened them, stopping and stumbling to a harsh landing on her feet in front of what looked to be a bar. Alex blinked, then cheered, glad she didn’t hit the ground in a horrid splat. No- she  _ did  _ have flying skills. Wonderful. The half year of Aviation and Space classes paid off apparently. She turned her attention to the entrance of the bar. It was a fairly average bar, brown bricks, a neon sign on the side of it that said ‘Sorry Shingles’ on it, with a nondescript glass door as the entrance. And through the glass door she could see Gale standing behind a counter, talking to a couple and picking up two menus, leading them to a booth. He apparently hadn’t seen her, not even glancing back at her. Her heart leaped. Or at least what was left of it. Maybe she didn’t have a soul now. Oh well, back to focusing. Alex patted her cheeks, knowing that in this type of situation she could spend years just staring into space and thinking, so she needed to  _ move _ . And she did, she swept into the bar, walking straight through the glass windows like they were water and making a beeline for Gale. Curiosity and happiness at seeing him struck her, but she was not surprised by this. Seeing him and speaking to him always gave her a droplet of golden joy.

“Ah, celebrating your 21st birthday?” he asked the woman, who nodded eagerly. “Okay, we got a drink, or series of drinks, really, called the Celebration. We basically give you a shot glass of every kind of alcohol we have. Costs a bit, b-”

“I’d love that,” the woman interrupted him, and the guy she was with chuckled a little, causing the woman to look a little uncertain. “Sorry.”

“No, no problem, you’re excited, don’t worry.” He gave a look to the guy. “Okay, I’m gonna suggest you’re the designated driver, since she’s probably not going to be anywhere close to functional once she’s finished her drinks.”

“I figured, I’ll have a water, please,” the guy said, smiling. 

“I’ll get those right away,” Gale replied, turning and hurrying over to the bar. “We got a celebration,” he told Henry, who smiled widely.

“She must be the sickness that was mentioned, since you know how most people who get that end up puking most of the way through.” He started pouring the shot glasses while Gale filled a glass with water and ice, then putting the shot glasses in a fancy little holder so that it looked nice.

Trailing behind Gale was Alex, who to her mild irritation was wearing all white. A pair of cadmium white leggings, and a long sleeve shirt. So plain. So blank. It matched her wings, so she could deal with it for now. Her eyes followed his every movement, keeping at least two feet distance from him for her own comfort. Gale picked up the holder with the shot glasses, along with the water, turned, and started walking to the table, passing  _ through _ Alex. He shuddered a little, almost dropping the drinks as he finally left her, taking a few deep breaths. “Weird,” he muttered under his breath as he continued on his way. Alex perked up, realizing she had effects on her surroundings. Her lips upturned in a smirk. Best she take this opportunity carefully and with great ingenius. After Gale delivered the drinks, she reached out with a finger and let her hand flow into Gale’s shoulder. She felt nothing, maybe a little bit of warmth, but nothing else interesting. She watched his expression carefully. Gale’s face twisted into a small grimace and he shifted away from her touch, patting at his shoulder. “Sorry, anyways, what would you two like for your lunch?” he asked, taking out his notepad and pen.

“I’ll have a steak and a salad,” the woman said pretty much as soon as he finished his sentence, grabbing one of the shot glasses and drinking one. She grimaced, looking at the label of the drink on the shot glass.

“And I’ll have just a medium burger, please,” the guy said. Gale nodded, turning and walking back towards the kitchen, stepping slightly out of his way to try and avoid the cold spot.

Yet he found that no matter what, a cold draft followed him everywhere. Even others passing by him shivered and/or reacted to it in the slightest ways. Alex chuckled, but felt bad. A little. Maybe she  _ was  _ heartless. Her attention was distracted from Gale when she noticed some leftover food sitting on an abandoned table. It was half eaten, but sitting just by the edge. Tempting. So tempting. Alex could say this triggered her inner cat, because she swatted at it, and surprisingly, it flew off the tabe and shattered, spilling food all over the floor beneath her. Alex laughed. Gale almost jumped in surprise, casting a shocked expression at the food, before sighing and going to a nearby employee area, getting out a broom and dustpan, before sweeping it all up, feeling the stares of the customers nearby, as if  _ he _ was the one who had knocked it down. Alex didn’t miss these details, and groaned. She seemed to cause a lot of dumb trouble. Oops. She should make up for it later. Her mind felt a little fuzzy as part of her desperately tried to surface.  _ Go back-  _ Hm? Go back? Where? Haha I don’t need to! Alex hummed a tune.  _ SICK- _ Alex ignored the thoughts, and continued to trail Gale. He swept up the food and plate, throwing it into the trash bin before he stashed the broom away and hurried into the kitchen, handing the order to the cooks, before he went back out to the bar, since Henry was a bit overwhelmed by all of the people coming from work to drink, which was a little concerning, since the parking lot was full. He hoped they didn’t drink too much.

Alex found herself pacing out as she aimlessly followed Gale, reaching up and scratching her scalp blankly. She wondered a lot. About what she could do. What had happened to hErsIcKnEsS? A memory. 

_ A rough voice, whispering things in her ear that she found bothered her strongly. It wasn’t just the fact that he was so close, no, it was confusing, he didn’t smell of alcohol, in fact he was completely sober. Which meant he knew what he was doing when he had dropped a tablet of something in her drink.  _

_ It hadn’t taken effect until later. And then it was too late.  _

She halted her walking just in time to not go straight through Gale’s figure. Her nonexistent heart pounded. Alex had been poisoned. She hadn’t been sick at all. A frown spread across her face. Well. Gale, unaware of the fact that Alex was dead, much less poisoned, continued bringing out drinks and serving people, moving back and forth along the bar to help serve as many as quickly as possible. He came close to touching her several times, but never noticed her moving out of the way. Once the lunch rush was done, he let out a sigh of relief. “I’m gonna go in the back to make a call, okay?” he told Henry.

“Sure, don’t worry about it,” Henry told him. Gale went out the back and pulled out his phone, calling Alex’s number. He leaned against the wall as he heard it buzz over and over again. Alex, who was right there with him, sighed. She didn’t want him to see her body. She didn’t want him to know yet. What could she do to distract him? Her eyes narrowed. She reached over and touched his phone. 

.

.

.

The screen went black. Alex blinked. Seems like her habit of breaking things is still with her even in death. How...lovely. Gale pulled his phone away from his face as it stopped buzzing, frowning. “Huh. Okay then,” he muttered, trying to turn it on again. It didn’t work. “Crud.” He put his phone away and went back to work, and as it started to get dark outside, he got a little worried about a group of three drunks by a corner. He had offered them rides home and to pay for a taxi or Uber, but they just spat at him, laughing him away. He decided to leave them alone and let them fend for themselves as he finished up his shift, before he went to his car, which was in a part of the parking lot that was isolated, hard to see from the street or the bar. Footsteps could be heard, some of them a bit shaky or uneven.    
“Hey there pal, you got something for us?” One of them slobbered. Alex’s eyes narrowed, and without her own decision her wings flared out like a puffed up cat. Gale glanced back at the footsteps and voice, blinking innocently, not realizing the danger he was in yet.

“Umm… no? But I can get you guys a taxi or Uber if you want. It’s not safe to drive in your condition,” he said.

“How about ya just give us your cash instead?” One of them grinned, and pulled out an ivory colored object that turned out to be a pistol. It was shakily pointed at Gale’s head. “Now.” Alex, who could barely stand people not laughing at Gale’s jokes, was  _ not  _ happy about this. Something bordering fury and the urge to protect arose in her. It didn’t surprise her in the least. Gale raised his hands a bit, and it was clear they were shaking a bit, but he didn’t break down and cry, which was a plus in Gale’s book. Not that him managing to not cry when he was being threatened with death was really anything good, but hey. Silver lining. He slowly reached down and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. 

“Now, there’s no need for death, or threats, just…” he held it out to the man, trying not to show how terrified he was.

Except for the fallen angel standing behind him, who closed her eyes and concentrated on her appearance. Her fingers curled into oily colored claws, her bottom jaw unlatching to reveal a multitude of terrifying teeth. Her wings slowly bled into black on the lower feathers which flared out to surround Gale in a semicircle. Then she opened her eyes, which had gone from a soft pale pastel green to completely void black. She materialized, and the group of drunks all looked at her with a pause. Then the one with the gun screamed bloody murder,    
“DEMONDEOMNWITHCOHMYGOD-” and shot at Alex, who felt the bullet simply go through her shoulder. What bad aim this man had. They all scrambled away, one falling on his a*s before fleeing in a disgruntled state. Alex felt horribly happy with this situation. Their fear made her feel... good. Gale flinched away from the shot, breathing quickly, and glanced over behind him to see what they had freaked out about, and what they had shot at. Yet there was nothing. Alex had blinked once before she looked normal, and she felt a mild sense of fatigue. Oh well. Worth it. 

“What…” Gale started to ask aloud, before shaking his head. This had shaken him. He’d never been threatened like that before. So much for his plan to go check on Alex. He’d do that tomorrow, when he felt better. He climbed into his old beat up white car, driving home with his body language tense and glancing in almost every direction every couple seconds. Alex found that she couldn’t sit in the car with him, since that was like hanging onto a train from the outside, and instead flew directly over the hood of the car, enjoying the air. She found that she was quite fast, yet it wasn’t needed since Gale never went over the speed limit. This irritated and calmed her at the same time. Gale eventually pulled into his driveway, climbing out of his car and locking the car doors before he went to the front door, struggling a bit with the lock since his hands were still shaking slightly. He managed to unlock it, though, and picked up Nikolai when he tried to escape. “It’s okay, I’m here,” he murmured, cuddling the tuxedo cat, who was trying to leave his grip and dash outside as Gale went inside to the living room. Alex walked through his front door, her body visibly distorting as she blooped into the room. It still felt strange. Her eyes landed on Gale first, then on his home. It had pastel blue walls inside, with white tiled floor for the kitchen in the entrance. Gale had walked into the living room, with its brown carpeting and sitting on a soft-looking green couch, finally letting his cat go and run off, taking out his phone and trying to get it to work, with no avail. Alex entered the room and looked at the cat. She made a beeline for him, and stopped the cat in his tracks.    
“Why hello there.” Alex purred. Nikolai’s black and white fur stood on end, his tail poofing out as he stared at Alex with wide yellow eyes. He didn’t look hostile, thankfully, just a little scared and startled. Gale noticed Nikolai freaking out.

“What’s up, you big baby?” he asked, tilting his head and watching him. “See a spider?” Alex snorted. She was far better than a spider. She reached over to Nikolai to try and pet him. If she focused, she found she  _ could  _ make things move. And touch things. But Nikolai took a few steps back, not trusting the strange figure, his back arched as he continued to stare at her. Gale stood up and started moving slowly towards Nikolai, crouching down so he wouldn’t be as scared of him.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly, starting to feel a bit of fear. Did he see someone? Did someone come to rob his house today? After what he had already gone through? Alex sensed his apprehension, but wanted to be closer. So she tried to hug the cat. Nikolai was having none of it, and scrambled over towards Gale, climbing up onto his shoulders and still staring at Alex like she was the most terrifying thing since cucumbers. 

She pouted. “Fiiiine.” She whined, huffing and stretching her wings out to their full span before folding them lightly to her back. “Hmm” Her eyes locked onto the kitchen, and she wandered inside, looking over everything. It was a fairly small and simple kitchen, with an oven near the door, white countertop with a toaster and microwave sitting on it, a fridge and cabinet next to each other, and a dishwasher near a table and some chairs. She was tempted to make a pot fall, just for horror movies sake, but with how shaken Gale was, that would just be cold hearted. Not that she wasn’t cold hearted. She  _ did  _ consider doing it anyway. But not tonight. Gale managed to get Nikolai to calm down with some treats he had stashed in the living room, before putting him down. “Anyways, I’m gonna go to bed now, so go have fun. Get the zoomies and keep me up all night,” he chuckled, before going into his bedroom and changing, then flopping onto his bed. Alex waited till he was asleep, listening for the shuffling to halt, and then left the house on a mission. She stole a bundle of flowers from the nearest shop, and set them below Gale’s front door to his place. Then she wandered his house for a while, took a walk in the city. She found that she didn’t sleep. So she tapped into his dreams instead. 

_ “Hey sleepyhead.” Alex chuckled, holding a stirring wooden spoon and wearing an apron that read: ‘Do not kiss the cook’. Gale blinked a few times upon seeing her, smiling a bit more as he saw the apron. _

_ “I like the apron, fits you perfectly,” he said. “Is breakfast ready, or are you just here to show off the new apron?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Alex made a face,  _ _  
_ _ “It’s almost ready, sit your *ss down you impatient man-child.” She huffed, waving a spatula at him before turning back to the pan of eggs mixed with pieces of venison meat. Gale snorted. _

_ “I was just asking, sorry,” he said as he sat down at the table, which looked a lot better than his, made of rich, dark wood. He rested his chin on his hand, and he watched Alex cook. As if she felt his stare burning into her back, she jerked a bit and moved out of his view to apparently get some seasoning. Gale pulled back, averting his eyes and looking at a wall that was very interesting, especially with how it seemed to change colors every time he looked away. He didn’t question it, just watched the wall with interest, glancing away every few seconds to see what color would be next. Alxe eventually loaded a single plate with the breakfast, steaming with a delicious aroma, and set it in front of him. She smiled, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the forehead before she disappeared into thin air. Just like that.  _

_ Gale’s eyes widened and a smile lit up his face as she kissed him, but then his joyous look turned to confusion as she disappeared. “Alex?” he called to the room, standing up and looking around for her. _

The sound of Nikolai chirruping in Gale’s face awoke him just in time, and Alex’s winged figure left the ajar doorway and into the living room, away from him. Gale groaned as he woke up, putting a hand to his forehead. “Ugh, why did I have to wake up?” he cast a mocking glare at Nikolai, who stopped meowing just long enough to rub against his hand, then resumed his call for food. “Too bad Alex is usually too busy to come over, I’m sure you two would love each other,” he said to Nikolai as he stood up and went into the kitchen, almost tripping as Nikolai bolted through his legs to get there before him and jump up onto the counter. He chuckled as he grabbed a can of wet food and started dishing it up. “How are you still skinny with how much you eat?” he asked jokingly as Nikolai eagerly inhaled the food. Alex snorted, standing in the next room over, closest to Gale. She didn’t want to spook the cat. Yet. She checked the flowers she left outside, and put a hand to them, livening them up a bit from the night of no water. Pink Camellias. A symbol of longing. Alex wished, now that it had been taken from her, that she had taken some time to spend with Gale. He went outside to check the mail, since he hadn’t yesterday, and paused as he saw the flowers, picking them up and examining them. “Who left me flowers?” he asked the empty morning, looking around. “Did one of the kids next door wake up early and rob their dad’s garden?” he chuckled. He made sure he didn’t have any mail, before coming inside and taking out a pitcher, putting a bit of water in it before he placed the flowers in them. “There we go, I guess you’re here now. I’ll make sure Nikolai doesn’t eat you,” he joked.

Alex knew she wouldn’t let the cat touch those flowers. She gave the cat a stern look a few times, and he seemed to get that she wasn’t going to tolerate it. She followed Gale around, unless he went into his room, or the bathroom. Privacy was something Alex honored. So she would go back to the living room in the meantime and just space out. “Alright, I’m gonna go to the phone store and see what’s wrong with my phone, okay Nik?” Gale asked, picking Nikolai up, who protested with a meow. He set him down on the counter, giving him a few chin scratches before he went outside and started up the car, backing out of the driveway and pulling away from his house. Alex this time, did not follow. She looked around his house. Her lips pressed into a thin line. She looked down at Nikolai.    
“This place needs dusting, he shouldn’t notice, right Nik?” She asked the cat, her wings fluffing out a bit to stretch. Nikolai watched her intently, but only backed away one step, his fur slicked down. 

“Mao?” he called questioningly, taking a hesitant step towards her and sniffing at the air. Alex’s expression lit up in a big smile, and she bent down slowly, offering a hand. She tried her best to make the hand solid and less ghost-like. Nikolai sniffed at the offered hand, tilting his head and his whiskers twitching. Then he rubbed his face on her hand. Because of her lack of solidity, it kind of slid through, but they could both still feel each other’s touch. Nikolai sneezed and glanced at her hand in an offended manner, like it was its fault for making him sneeze. 

Alex let out a small laugh, then stood up straight, fanning out her wings part-way. Their full span was too far out for the confines of Gale’s living room, so they were only half open. To Alex, she found the wings to be quite large. She looked around the room, then rummaged through a closet with as much effort as she could to make herself solid, which was like holding her breath and hugging her lungs at the same time. She found the duster, and got to work on the living room. Nikolai followed behind her a little distance away, watching her with interest. About an hour later, the door opened, and Nikolai turned and ran to the front door.

“Hello, Nik, didja miss me?” Gale asked with a smile as he ruffled his fur. “Got a new phone, so I can get more pictures of you freaking out over a cloth mouse,” he chuckled. At the sound of his voice, Alex dropped the duster hazardly in the closet and closed it as quietly as she could. Then she swept into the main room, wanting to see Gale. He let out a shout of surprise as Nikolai jumped up onto his shoulders, and he stood up slowly. “Okay, you wanna see outside?” he asked as he moved over to a window, his head ducked down to keep out of Nikolai’s way. “Can you please ease up a bit on the claws?” His cat paid his request no mind, still digging them into his shoulders for grip as he crept around them, looking at everything from high up. He looked at Alex and mirped at her. This made Alex overjoyed, a big smile stretching across her face. She got close up to the cat, reaching out with a hand. The air near Gale became frosty. Gale shivered a little, glancing up at Nikolai as he leaned out from his shoulder and sniffed at something. “What do you smell?” he asked, a little confused. Nikolai rubbed against Alex’s hand, mostly passing through and pulling back slightly when he felt the chill. Alex was so happy about this that her wings flared out, and bumped a pencil off a nearby surface, dropping to the floor. She immediately froze, and folded the white feathered limbs back to her spine. Gale whipped his head to look at the pencil on the ground, stiffening slightly before he relaxed after a second. “Oh, just a pencil. Almost had a heart attack.” He went over and bent down to pick it up, and Nikolai moved so that he was just standing on Gale’s back. “Can you please get off?” he asked. The cat, of course, did not do as he asked. He sighed. “Guess I’m a hunchback now.” He waddled out of the kitchen, looking ridiculous.

Alex simply watched, and stifled a laugh by putting a hand to her face. She followed, but at a distance. Gale squat-walked to his bedroom, and let out a sigh of relief as Nikolai jumped off of his back onto the bed, stretching to his full, towering, 5 foot 6 height. “I’m glad no one sees my back, or else you’d make it so that people think I’m-” he cut himself off, chuckling a little. He ran a hand over Nikolai’s back, sitting down on the bed. Alex peeked into his room, unsure of if she should even be near it. Seemed harmless, for now, so she slowly crept in, careful not to bump her wings on the doorframe. Nikolai perked up as he saw Alex and walked over to the edge of the bed, sniffing at her. Gale followed what he was looking at, and tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowed as he looked straight through Alex. For a second Alex thought he could see her, and she panicked, moving out of his line of sight and more to his side. Then relaxed again, since part of her found her fear as trivial. Gale kept looking at where Alex had been, but Nikolai noticed Alex’s movement and followed her to the edge of the bed, swatting at her with a paw irritatedly, like he wanted her to sit still and give him the pets he so obviously deserved. Alex complied, reaching over and lightly petting the cat’s head. Not enough to make it strange, but enough that the cat felt it. She didn’t touch his ears. He let out a little purr, and that drew Gale’s attention, turning around to see him. “What’s so great? Did you find the remains of the toy mouse you disemboweled last week?” he asked jokingly. This made Alex snort, and she retracted her hand from the cat. She then realized just how close she had moved towards Gale. Nikolai swatted towards her again, and Gale rolled his eyes. “Can I join you?” he asked, swatting with his own arm towards Alex without realizing it. Her reaction would have been funny if anyone had seen it. She let out a yelp, flinching back and landing on her bum, blinking owlishly up at Gale. But of course, Gale heard nothing. He felt a bit of cold, though, before it moved away. “What the heck is up with me and feeling cold these last couple days?” he muttered, getting up and probing the area around where she had been. “Am I going insane? Is it just that my A/C is freaking out, or just being weird?” he asked as his foot brushed through Alex’s, and he shivered, looking down at her.

This was the last time Alex ever went into Gale’s room. She didn’t move, because realistically that would create a cold breeze, and he would follow it. In her nervousness, she became touchable. Gale felt his other leg bump into something, and he frowned, since he couldn’t see anything. His other foot had started to feel heavy and cumbersome, like it was stuck in something. He bent down to touch his foot, when it came in contact with something invisible, cold, and definitely solid. He froze, eyes widening. He almost looked like a deer in headlights. His mouth was moving slightly, mouthing some of the thoughts running through his head. It was more or less incomprehensible, not making coherent sentences. “Wha-fu-the-he-,” he was murmuring, his breath stuck in his throat and his heart racing enough that his pulse was able to be felt through his foot. His touch to Alex however felt like fire. And after a moment of hesitation, yanked away, realizing she was solid and reversing back to what she dubbed, ‘ghost mode’. When she started to yank away, she wasn’t completely a ghost yet, so Gale’s foot was yanked with her for a foot, and he pulled away frantically, hitting his bed frame roughly and sitting there on the carpet, staring at the place Alex had been with fear plain in his eyes. He managed to resume his breathing, hyperventilating for a few seconds before he calmed down slightly. Alex knew that if she had a pumping heart it would be breaking her sternum. She fled from the room, stopping in the hallway and flaring out her wings, shaking herself. Nikolai jumped down from the bed to follow her, but Gale grabbed him, holding him closely. “No, no, it’s- it’s not safe,” he said softly, ignoring his cat’s wriggles of protest to escape. Guilt hit Alex after the startling experience weighed down on her conscience, and she sighed. Be more careful? Definitely. After a few minutes, Gale let Nikolai escape his grip and go over to Alex, trying to rub against her, but passing through and shaking himself. He looked up at Alex like her not being solid enough to rub against was the most offensive thing anyone had ever done to him. Alex caught the look and scoffed,    
“Don’t look at me like that.” She protested, making a face. Nikolai stretched and walked down the hallway to the kitchen. Gale climbed to his feet, moving to the hallway and glancing up and down it, relaxing a little. 

“What the heck did I touch?” he muttered to himself. Alex felt a surge of sarcasm, and even though she couldn’t make Gale hear her she said flatly,

“My ankle.” Gale could not appreciate Alex’s sarcasm, so he simply moved down the hallway to the kitchen, since he was starting to get hungry for lunch. He opened up the fridge, wondering what to eat.

Alex followed, but made sure she was not at arms length anymore. Gale bent down and opened up the freezer, taking out a frozen pizza and going to the oven, turning it on and cutting the pizza out of its case. Nikolai jumped up onto the counter next to the pizza, and Gale picked him up. “No, you’re not going to eat all the pepperoni slices this time,” he said, putting him back on the ground. “I like meat too, you know.” Alex stared at the food, then got a mildly stupid idea. Steal a piece of food from the pizza. Not a slice, just some cheese or something. Yesss. Gale went over to the fridge and opened it up again, pulling out a bag of shredded cheese. “They never put enough on them,” he muttered as he opened it up, walking over to the pizza. Alex suddenly felt tight in her back muscles, so she left the kitchen, walked through the front door like every ghost does, and stretched her wings out. It felt good. Gale grabbed a handful of cheese and sprinkled it on the pizza, before grabbing another and putting it on. Then he watched the temperature of the oven, waiting for it to heat up. Alex returned a little bit later, having been distracted by a kid’s rubber bouncy ball that had rolled into the road. She had returned it to the little kid, who was able to see her. Fascinating, in the most amazing way, to Alex. Gale loaded the pizza into the oven, and set up a timer for 10 minutes. “There we go, maybe I can get some writing in now. Maybe even get a few sentences down before I get distracted by something,” he said as he went to his corner chair and opened up his laptop. Alex didn’t snoop on what he was doing, mostly because she already guessed, and sat nearby, relaxing. Gale put on some rock music before he started typing, pausing every once in a while to think before he continued. After 9ish minutes, he closed his laptop and went over to the oven, watching the timer count down as he got ready to take the pizza out. Alex stood next to him, humming a song most would cry over. You Are My Sunshine. Her great grandpa sang it with her all the time way back when. He wasn’t around anymore. Gale couldn’t hear her humming while he opened up the oven, pulling the pizza out without any precautions against the heat. He set it down on the cardboard circle it had come on, and pulled out a pizza cutter, slicing it into squares before he set it on a plate. “I really shouldn’t eat the entire thing,” he said to himself. “But I’m hungry, so oh well. Sucks for my body, I guess.”

He was watched throughout his activities by Alex, who dodged any time he got too close. He went over to the kitchen table, setting it down and pulling out a worn book labeled ‘The Elenium’ from on top of the dishwasher, reading it while he ate. Alex stood next to him, leaning over a little to read what he was reading, then realized this was a good time to steal food. So she took the chance, and let herself solidify. Two fingers latched onto a pepperoni, and hid it in her hand so it wasn’t just floating. It took Gale a minute or so to notice, and he blinked a few times as he saw the slice, which had a pepperoni-shaped hole in the cheese, letting him see the sauce. “Huh,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes. He looked over at Nikolai, who was by the back sliding door, staring at the bird feeders out back. “That’s weird.” He went back to reading and eating after shrugging it off. Alex ate the stolen pepperoni, and found with delight that she could in fact eat, and taste. 

Some time went by, Alex being careful, but as many might know, she had lazy moments. And mirrors never really occurred to be a threat to her reveal. She usually didn’t go near the bathroom when Gale was in it, but his shout was enough for her to be there in an instant. She saw Gale picking up a toothbrush, grimacing at some toothpaste on the ground. He grabbed a cloth, wetting it before he wiped up the toothpaste, and then reapplied some onto the toothbrush. “Butterfingers,” he poked fun at himself before he started brushing his teeth, pacing around the end of the bathroom in a tiny circle. Alex breathed a sigh of relief. No danger here, just a little clumsiness. But the mirror, which was quite large, showed her in the doorway, leaning against the frame and not looking Gale’s way. Her one wing flared out a bit as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Gale glanced at the mirror, his eyes widening. He spit out his toothpaste, looking quickly at the door frame, confused when he didn’t see anything. He looked back at the mirror. “Lexie!?” he exclaimed. Alex jolted, her wings flared out, and she became solid. Knocking over the mouthwash, which was heavy, and slapping Gale across the body with feathers. He stumbled back a little, jumping when the mouthwash hit the ground. “Why are you-” he glanced at the door frame, then at the mirror. “Why can’t I see you!?” he asked. “What happened?” Alex was at a loss for words, and looked over at the mirror with a slap of realization. Her mouth opened, but she was too shocked, wings moving so they were in the hallway as she backed away. “I-A-ah-um-” Not that Gale could hear her, but the mirror did give him a looking glass at her muted flabbergasted expression. He took a step towards her, before stopping himself. 

“It’s okay, we’ll figure out why you’re invisible, and… have wings. You kinda look like-” he started joking, before pausing, a look of horror spreading across his face. “Are you a ghost? Or an angel?” he asked quietly, voice suddenly quiet and despairing, sounding like he was about to cry. This made Alex panic, since tears were not her specialty in comforting, but she did put her hands up and make a halo gesture above her head. Gale watched through the mirror. “Did you… d-die?” he asked, making sure not to move towards her. He didn’t want to freak her out more, though they were both freaking out somewhat in this situation. Alex wanted to deny it, and keep him from getting emotional, but she knew most people were not like her when it came to handling these moments. She was just more numb, it didn’t make it a good thing either. She made a sheepish shrug movement, then proceeded to leave the hallway and go into the living room, out of Gale’s sight. This didn’t answer Gale’s question with any certainty, so he rushed out of the bathroom, grabbing his car keys and climbing into the car, hitting the acceleration harder than he really needed to and rushing to Alex’s house. As he was driving, he glanced at his car mirrors to make sure he wasn’t endangering anyone else in his mad rush. He needed to make sure. He knew he wasn’t going to like the answer, but he needed it.

Alex had scrambled after him, barely keeping up with his car but soaring right behind his bumper all the same. She was flying low, wings out and fanned completely, almost flapping down into the ground because of their size. Gale saw her in the mirror, and slowed down slightly so he was only going 5 over the speed limit. He parked in front of Alex’s apartment building, thankful she had given him a spare key. He rushed up to her apartment and unlocked the door, glancing around wildly as he came inside. He was hit by the smell of something rotting, and dense dusty air. Someone had not been living in this place for a while with how dirty it had become. Alex followed slowly, having not entered her home since her death. “Alex?” Gale called out, hoping against hope that she would somehow be okay and answer. He followed the smell to the bathroom, and tried the door. Locked. He grimaced and slammed against the door, over and over again, until it finally gave way and tore open. He froze as he saw her body, trying to say something, breathe, think, but it all stopped. In the bathroom mirror Alex slowly walked in next to him, the room becoming chilly from her presence. She stared down at the body with a blank stare. All she could think was,   
_ Wow, what a mess. _

Gale shuddered, glancing at the mirror and seeing Alex. Tears were running down his face, and he pulled out his phone. “H-hello, 911?” he said shakily. “I-I found a body.” He gave Alex’s address, taking a few tries to get it out due to how hard he was starting to cry, before going and sitting down on the couch, trying to stop the tears, but they just kept welling up and rolling down his face, his breathing shakier than his hands. “I-I’m sor-sorry,” he said to the empty room. Alex, who’s only emotion on the situation was worry for Gale, sat down beside him, solidifying and wrapping a wing around him. She was cold, but she hoped that wouldn’t matter too much. Gale was shaking too much from his crying for his shivering from the cold to really be noticeable, and he leaned into her, not even trying to say anything, burying his face in her shoulder. For once, she hugged him without him having to ask. Or maybe she just knew he was asking in his head, either way, she embraced his shivering form, hoping this wouldn’t be too hard to get over. Gale curled up in her embrace, feeling like she was shielding him from everything. “Th-thank you,” he said softly, barely more than a whisper. His tears and sobbing had slowed down so the shivering was more from how cold she was than his crying. She separated from him when the sirens arrived, and watched from a distance. However if Gale needed touch she would set a hand on his shoulder, or clasp his hand in hers momentarily, like a way to ground himself. Gale at first protested when she pulled away, but after a reassuring touch he managed to pull himself together. He gave all the information he could to the police when they arrived, sniffing and wiping at his tear-soaked face with a hand.

Alex was patient with him, knowing it was hard. She may have been unable to relate, with how different she reacts to these things, but she did know a few ways to comfort. A few. He was eventually released from the questioning and told to go home. He walked to his car and started it up, staring at the apartment building for a few minutes before he buckled himself in and started driving back. Alex followed, flying skillfully, and sometimes moving in barrel rolls to avoid signs or bridges. Gale glanced at the rearview mirror every couple seconds to reassure himself that Alex was still there, he wasn’t alone. His self-loathing started creeping in, starting to ask him if he was hallucinating, if he was just imagining Alex as a last-ditch effort to keep himself together. He couldn’t actually see her, after all. It was only through mirrors. Maybe he had been hugging a pillow on the couch, or something else. He parked in his driveway, starting to be worn down by these thoughts. Alex landed near him, then yoinked his key from his hand, unlocking his door and opening it. Gale jumped a little, watching the key fly through the air and unlock the door. He couldn’t have imagined or hallucinated that, right? Nikolai poked his head out of the door, sniffing at the outside air. Gale walked over to him and picked him up, warm and soft and fluffy and alive. “No, you’re not escaping,” he said, walking inside and holding the door open for half a minute in case Alex was still outside. She wasn’t, but found it interesting. Alex sat down on the floor- out of habit- and sighed, relaxing her muscles. Gale walked to the couch, shivering and pausing as he went by Alex, before sitting down next to her, Nikolai sitting on his lap and sniffing at Alex. She gave the cat some more fulfilling pets, scratches behind the ears and even shoulder massages. Nikolai purred, and Gale smiled as he enjoyed the invisible pets. “I’m glad you’re getting along with Alex,” he chuckled. “How come you’ve never done that to me?” he asked Alex. “I would’ve loved pets and scratches. Is it because I’m not cute enough?”

Alex knew he was baiting her. And this game was not to be lost. She huffed a little, but kept petting the cat, ignoring Gale. “Okay, I see how it is,” he said jokingly. Nikolai moved from Gale’s lap to Alex’s, looking like he was floating. “Now we got a hovercat. Nice.” Alex laughed aloud at that, and struggled not to laugh the cat off her thighs.   
“Oh my god.” She muttered, shaking her head. 

“Can you make it so that I can hear you, somehow?” Gale asked, watching the cat, since he couldn’t see anything other than him. Alex paused. She hadn’t tried that yet. “Or that I can see you?” He sat still, watching the cat, hating how he couldn’t see her or hear her. For all he knew, she wasn’t even paying attention to him. He couldn’t read her body language or voice, though he knew he was terrible at it compared to Alex, at least it’d give him  _ some _ impression on what she was doing. She focused, and after a couple seconds,   
“Testing- 1, 2, 3.” She joked a little. Gale stiffened, looking at her face, or where the voice was coming from, a smile splitting his face in half. He had missed her voice, and was barely able to resist the urge to hug her. She was real, 100%. She was here with him. Making his cat hover. 

“I can hear you loud and clear,” he said, voice still a little shaky.

“Well that’s good, cause I need a little control of my life here.” She chuckled, then hummed, “Having you see me however is harder.”

“It’s okay, hearing your voice is all that I need. You don’t have to push yourself. You’ve already done too much pushing for yourself.” He let out a little sigh and closed his eyes, enjoying being by her and her voice. Alex could see this in his expression, the way he relaxed, his body sagging.    
“We’ll see what happens.” 

A pause. “Oh, by the way, I died by poison.” Gale’s relaxation ended as soon as she said ‘died’.

“WHAT!?” he exclaimed, staring at where she was. “WH- Who killed you?” he asked, forcing himself to calm down. Or at least sound like he was more calm. “Why?”

“I don’t know who, my memory is fuzzy, but I have been out exploring and I know I was at a bar.” Alex replied casually. 

“Which bar? What did the bar look like? What did the person look like?” Gale started, before forcing himself to stop. “Sorry, I’m probably overwhelming you with questions.”    
A pause, then,

“I’ll tell you everything I remember so far.” Alex said, indeed feeling defensive after his questions, but calmed down quickly. “A male... gruff voice, was sober from what I could tell, distracted me enough to drop a tablet of some sort into my drink but I don’t know if that was the person who poisoned me. I don’t know why someone would want to kill me either, maybe kidnap, but kill? It doesn’t make sense.” She took a moment to sigh, “I was working all day before that night, having gotten into a spat with my coworker Amy about work hours and payment, but I couldn’t imagine her even pranking me, much less killing. My manager, Ralf, wasn’t at work that day. I don’t remember the bar name, but it had glowing neon purple lights on the sign outside. More rustic inside.” Gale narrowed his eyes in thought, figuring out a plan.

“Got it. A simple, if tedious, idea is driving around until we find the bar with purple neon lights,” he said as he took out his phone and looked up bars with purple neon lights and rustic insides near him. It might not work, but hey. Quick and easy.

The google search came up positive, and showed a bar named Terry’s. It was an older looking building, and on a side of town where darker things could happen. Alex shifted so she was petting Nikolai again, who rumbled into purring in her lap happily. “There we go, found it.” Gale stood up and started moving towards the door. “Maybe if we go to Terry’s, you’ll remember more, or we might be able to find clues about whoever poisoned you.”    
“Sure.” Alex didn’t feel keen on finding out how she died really, or why, mostly because of a feeling that she was forgetting something, but she shrugged it off. 

“I’m sure you’ll be able to catch up, so I’ll let you give Nikolai a few more pets while I start towards the bar.” He reached down and giving his cat a few chin scratches, before he pulled away, much to the disapproval of the cat. “Se- wait, you’ll see me in a bit, I won’t see you,” he chuckled as he went out the door, and Nikolai squirmed a little, standing up and staring at the door. That made Alex laugh, but something told her she should be worried. So she let the cat go and followed quickly. Nikolai tried to follow her outside, but was stopped by the door she went through. Gale was a minute or two ahead of her, and she could see his car turning the corner at the end of the street, driving downtown. With a few heavy flaps of her wings she leapt into the air, catching a gust of wind and soaring into the grey sky. She wasn’t gaining on Gale, she wasn’t fast at high altitudes, only if she was lower. She could barely tell which car was his, if not for her necklace showing her the way once again. Gale drove downtown, a little concerned when he looked in his rearview mirrors and didn’t see her. But he kept going, and parked in front of Terry’s, climbing out and looking around, though he knew he wouldn’t be able to see Alex. Maybe he should get one of those handheld mirrors. A makeup kit one, just to be funny. About a minute later Alex landed with a flourish right next to his car, wings completely expanded. She knew if he had been able to see her it may have been an intimidating landing, but he couldn’t. It took a lot of effort to make herself revealed. She learned that the hard way when those drunks threatened Gale. He waited a few minutes, before shrugging. “Well, if you’re here, let me know somehow. Maybe knock someone’s glass over for no reason, like the cat you are,” he chuckled before he headed into Terry’s, looking around.

Alex followed, pouting at his comment. She would definitely let him know she was there, she just had to find the best way to do so. Gale went over to the bar counter, trying to think of what he wanted. He hadn’t drunken much after he turned 21, especially after Alex had bought him like two dozen kinds of alcohol to try. The morning after that was  _ not fun _ . “I’ll have a… you got Dragon’s Milk?” he asked the bartender. Alex laughed aloud at that, making it so Gale could hear her. She then looked around the place, and spotted the stool she had sat on the night she was poisoned. Gale jumped a little at her laugh, casting a look in her direction. “What’s so funny?” he asked quietly as the bartender got his drink. 

“Nothing.” Alex teased him lightly, then went silent. Gale didn’t know what she was doing, but he could feel a cold breeze blow past him. In the direction of the bartender. He turned to look at the bartender, forcing himself to not narrow his eyes in thought. Didn’t want to look suspicious. The bartender grabbed a bottle and slid it over to Gale, shivering a little and frowning a bit, trying to think. As the bartender, a man in his thirties, was washing a glass, he suddenly jolted, eyes bugging out as he completely dropped behind the counter to his knees. Thankfully, the cup in his hand did not drop. Gale leaned over the counter, startled.

“Are you okay?” he asked the bartender, concerned and a little frightened. He wondered what had happened. Did Alex do something? The man suddenly looked up at Gale, and in a frighteningly scary manner, stood up and rolled his shoulders. The man’s eyes were glowing green. Gale leaned back, eyes wide. “Uh… do you need medical treatment?” he asked nervously. “I don’t think glowing eyes are healthy.” The man suddenly shook his head, leaning forward as Gale retreated a little.   
“I’m fine, give a spirit a break will ya?” The man’s gruff voice was strange coming from Alex, but she had assumed this was how it would be. A woman’s voice coming out of a man would be very strange. 

“Okay, sorry,” he said, averting his eyes nervously. He was more focused on doing what he said than him saying ‘spirit’, so it didn’t click together for him yet.

Alex would have none of this, and said, “Honestly I didn’t think I would be able to possess a person, but hey, not all angels are good.” she shrugged, then grinned, “Need anything else,  _ sir _ ?” Luckily, bludgeoning Gale with the information made him realize what had happened, and he stared at Alex, eyes wide.

“Oh… okay, you can… you can do that. Fun. Is the bartender… okay?” he asked.    
“Yes, he’s fine. It’s like he’s sleeping. I guess I just kinda conked him out in order to take control.” Alex laughed nervously. Gale relaxed slightly.

“Phew. Little worried about that. So what now? Do you remember anything? Find any clues?”

“Nope, nada. Nothing new.”

“Which stools did you and the guy sit on?” Gale asked, looking from side to side at the mostly empty stools. Alex used the bartender’s finger to point at the stool she sat at, then the one next to it. Gale got up and walked over to the two stools, looking for any sign of powder, wrapper for something, though he knew after a few days they had probably been cleaned up by now. There was indeed nothing, however a person sat there casually, drinking his beer. To Alex, the man didn’t look  _ too  _ familiar, but she thought on it and realized that man had been there, but wasn’t the one who poisoned her. He may have been too drunk to even notice it happening at the time. “Hello, sir, how’re you doing?” Gale asked the man as he sipped at his beer. The man just raised a brow, then sighed.    
“What do you want?” It was as if he was expecting money demands or something. Gale was a little startled by this, but recovered quickly.

“Nothing, nevermind, have a good day,” he said, going back to his seat and shrugging towards Alex. “Sorry, there’s nothing where you and the guy were sitting, unsurprisingly.”

Alex was tempted to roll her eyes. He didn’t even try for conversation with the closest lead they had. Then she cracked her knuckles and moved in the direction of the man with the beer casually. Gale watched her, wondering what she was doing. He had no idea the guy had been there when she was poisoned, so he figured it was best not to bother someone who seemed like they wouldn’t take it well for no reason. Of course, Gale had a literal angel on his side, but Alex wasn’t about to flaunt that. Yet.    
“Need a top off on the beer?” Alex asked the man, who glanced up and nodded. Then she added smoothly, “You remember that guy who always sat here? He seemed to get the lady chicks and pay for their drinks.” The man with the beer licked his dry lips, feeling suddenly cold.    
“Yeah. He’s a regular. Dave is his name I think. Never see the women come back though.” Gale stiffened slightly, glancing at the guy out of the corner of his eye. There had been others he had poisoned? Oh no. This was a lot bigger than he thought it was. Maybe he should get a weapon of some kind. Vigilante justice, so he can be thrown in jail to rot after shooting Dave. Alex would not approve of that, but she knew Dave could possibly attack Gale, and him having a way to defend himself was...okay. She could deal with that.    
“I’m never here when he’s around, my shift always changes, but do you know more about ‘em?” Alex asked the man, refilling his beer and sliding it over.    
“Pretty sure he’s related to some gang. That’s all I know.” Gale let out an inward sigh. Of course he was involved with a gang of some sort. This couldn’t be too easy. He drained the rest of his beer and set it down.

“Excuse me, may I have another beer?” he asked Alex. The bartender’s dark eyes flicked over to Gale, and glowed green. She moved over to him fast enough that the guy she had just asked questions didn’t notice the abnormal eye color.    
“Yes, you may.” Alex grinned down at Gale, liking the height difference, but knowing it wouldn’t last. She was working the role of bartender quite well, as if she had a job like it before. 

“Thank you,” he said. “Did you work as a bartender before and not tell me?” he asked quietly. “Or is this just you being really good at everything again?”    
“No comment.” Alex teased him, not revealing any answers. She had a few bumps in her life concerning jobs, and money. She was definitely not a saint, and was extremely surprised she even got to the gates of heaven. Well, she did still have the cross hanging in her room, but that was because of her grandma wanting to visit and insisted she keep it there. 

“Uh-huh,” Gale chuckled, accepting her teasing, since he’d gotten used to it over the years. “Anyways, what’s the plan? Just sit in the bar until he shows up, or I learn how to drunk drive and find his house?”

“Tonight, you’re going to bed, and resting. Since you actually drank and you’re not usually a heavy drinker.” Alex hoped he didn’t ask anything specific at the moment. “I’ll drive the car home. And don’t ask how.” She sighed. 

“Okay, thank you,” Gale said, taking a sip from his new beer. He drained it and stood up. “Crud, I haven’t drank in a while, my head’s gonna kill me in the morning,” he chuckled. He felt a buzz coming on, and was glad Alex was driving, since he remembered all the stupid and embarrassing things he had done the first time he had alcohol, thanks to Alex’s recording it. He paid for the drinks before he headed out to the car, unlocking his car clumsily and climbing into the passenger seat. He buckled himself in quickly, remembering the mini heart attack he had the first time he had ridden in a car with Alex, and she slammed the accelerator. This time however, much to Alex’s unhappiness, she had to drive as a ghost. And an angel. She had wings that did not fit well in a car. However she released the bartender’s body, and followed quickly after Gale, before jumping into the front seat driver’s spot. She flexed her fingers, taking a deep breath. Then she made herself solid, and hoped no one pulled them over for not having an actual driver, since she was invisible. “I’m gonna recommend you go the speed limit and not drive too recklessly,” Gale stated the obvious before stopping himself. “I’m gonna look out the window, because I do not like seeing the steering wheel move by itself. Guess I’m not ready for self-driving cars yet, eh?” he joked. Alex let out a breath through her nose, pulling out of the car’s parking spot and rolling into the few bits of traffic left. The car ride was actually smooth, and it seemed like Alex was being extra careful. She may be dead, but she wasn’t having a drunk Gale be dead too. “Aww, thanks, Cocoa,” Gale said once he realized this. “You’re so sweet and nice.”

“I’m not sweet, or nice.” She grumbled, finally pulling into the parking space from before nearest to Gale’s home. “Come on featherweight, let’s get you inside and into bed.” Alex sighed, getting out of the driver’s seat and over to Gale, opening his door, and touching his hand so he knew she was there. 

“The lie detector has stated that those are both lies,” Gale said, wrapping his fingers around her hand as he got up. “I feel rich, with a driver and chaff-oor, no, that’s not how it’s-” he mumbled under his breath, trying to remember how to pronounce ‘chauffeur’. Watching drunk Gale struggle with the smallest things was always amusing.

Alex dragged him slowly into his place, then made sure the door was locked behind him. She plopped him in bed, and curled him in with his blanket. Then she glanced at the clock. She had just enough time to leave, and figure out who to scare half to death. “Noo, Lexie. Don’t forget the Nutella on the shopping list,” he said. “It was obviously the cat who ate the rest of it, don’t mind the chocolate-covered spoon in the dishwasher.” He stuck a hand out of the blanket and somehow managed to brush against her hand, wrapping his fingers into hers. This made her mind and body immediately respond with,  _ BAD TOUCH _ . Which she outwardly responded with,    
“Don’t worry honey, I’ll get more Nutella. You just sleep.” Then kissed him on the forehead before wiggling her hand from his and leaving the room. 

“Okay,” Gale said, curling up and closing his eyes, his breathing slowing as he drifted into unconsciousness. 

Walking through the locked door, Alex flared out her wings. She was going to find her work boss, give him a little visit, see if he knows anything. He’s a stubborn man, but a selfish fat one too, so she knew the only way to get info on a gang from him is through threats. Gale wouldn’t really like what she was about to do, maybe get sick in the process, so this was why he was in bed and she was out flying. 

Meanwhile, Gale went through his normal drunk nightmares, of being blind to everything but how high up he was, clinging to the side of the building he had somehow gotten on, feeling himself shaking and swaying a little from his drunkenness, too afraid that if he shouted for help, or made any noise, he’d plummet to his death. He slowly glanced from side to side, but his vision was fogged up, and he couldn’t see anything farther than like 20 feet, and he couldn’t see anything other than an extension of the ledge he was on. So he was still, clinging to the small cracks he had found in the building to help hold himself up.

Phasing through the boss’s bedroom wall, Alex spotted the man sleeping in bed. Her eyes flashed green, and her angelic appearance molded into a much more devilish style. She grabbed the man’s neck in her claws, startling him awake as he tried to scream, but no air came out. “Hello. I have a few questions that you’re going to answer if you value your life.” She grinned. Her boss nodded frantically, eyes wide in shock as he clutched at her claws to try and keep them from suffocating him. She loosened her hold just enough that he could breathe, and asked,    
“Tell me everything you know about a gang, and a man named Dave.” She hissed. He croaked,    
“Dave is apart of the Scorpion gang, he’s an assassin who works for me.” That was all Alex needed to hear, but she held herself back just a little more.    
“Where is Dave now?” She asked calmly.    
“He was returning to the bar at midnight to catch his next-” A gurgle came from the large man as Alex dug her claws through his neck’s skin, beads of red forming the deeper and harder she squeezed. The man struggled, but Alex was inhumanly strong, and the more blood that came out of the man, the more exhilarated she felt. After a minute or two, the man was dead, and his bedsheets were now stained a dark ruby red. So was Alex’s clawed hand, and she raised it to eye level so she could revel in the kill. 

Gale decided to try and go one way on the ledge he was on to maybe find a larger ledge he could be safer on. He crept along the ledge painfully slowly, grabbing at handholds whenever he could as he moved across. After a few stressful minutes, Gale’s foot slipped, and he screamed as he barely held on, moving his foot back onto the ledge, breathing rapidly and heavily, before he continued. “It’s gonna be okay, it’s gonna be okay,” he tried to reassure himself as he pressed on. His real body twisted this way and that, his breathing agitated and heart racing. Nikolai stood at the foot of the bed, watching him at a safe distance. He meowed, but Gale didn’t wake up.

Next stop was the bar, and Alex didn’t even bother to wipe the blood off of her. Some of it had been smeared on her cheek, and her own eyes had formed to cat-like slits. Her wings had a set of three claws on the ends, sharp like daggers. She flew over to the bar faster than she normally was able to, and strolled inside, completely visible. People shot disgusted looks at her, but most were afraid. Some too drunk to even comprehend her existence. Dave was in the exact spot as before, when he had poisoned her. Alex walked over, and tilted her head at him when he glanced over. He jolted, eyes widening and face scrunching up at the heavy smell of metallic blood. He wasn’t a messy murderer, clearly. 

Gale found a small alcove near a window where he could somewhat rest, catching his breath and leaning against the window. He bent down and tried to open it, but his numb fingers didn’t work, or it was locked. He banged at the window, trying to break it open, but he didn’t have enough space to really get enough strength to break it. So he just leaned into the alcove for a few minutes to catch his breath. Maybe he’d find another one with an open window. He climbed out of the alcove and crawled onwards along the building’s face, making sure not to look down.

People ran, screaming and crying frantically out of the bar, the smell of blood heavy in the air. This was not a clean kill for Alex, and she had made sure of it. Right after she finished up with Dave, she let herself go unseen, sirens wailing in the distance. What was left of Dave was a few limbs, and a whole lot of blood, splattered on the ground, the bar stool, the bar top, and even the ceiling. He was utterly destroyed, and Alex would be impressed if the police were able to find out who he even was. With that, she flicked a bit of blood from her clawed fingers and took flight, returning to Gale’s home. 

Gale eventually paused on the ledge to try and catch his breath, when he heard cracking. He hesitantly looked down, and saw the bricks around the ledge he was on starting to crack and give way. “No!” he exclaimed, hurriedly reaching out to try and find another handhold. But he failed. The ledge crumbled beneath him, and he felt the wind rushing up past him, letting out a scream of fear as he tumbled down, seeing the windows of the building whipping past him. He managed to turn around and saw the ground rushing up to meet him.

He shot up in his bed with a gasp, panting for breath and looking around in a panicked manner. “A-Alex?” he asked nervously, shaking from fear. “A-are you there?” The sound of water running could be heard in the nearest bathroom, and Alex was standing in front of the sink, trying to scrub the blood off of her. She was so covered in the red that being invisible didn’t matter. Gale climbed out of bed, wrapping himself in a blanket to try and cover his shivering as he went towards the bathroom, freezing as he saw Alex’s blood-caked figure. “Alex!?” he exclaimed in shock, eyes shooting wide open. “Wh-what… what did you do?” he asked quietly. She looked fairly angelic still, but there were shades of darker black tint fading up her arms, and up her legs from her feet. Not to mention the claws hidden in her white feathers. She glanced over at him, expression conveying confusion, then dejected acceptance. He had seen her covered in blood. Oh well. “Please tell me,” Gale said, not stepping into the bathroom and keeping his distance. “What did you do? Who… is that all from one person? Or did you…”

“I did what had to be done.” She snapped, then let out a sigh. “Nothing is happening now, you’re safe, and I am avenged, simple as that.” Gale flinched from her snapping at him, and she could easily read all the emotion running through his head. Horror and shock were aplenty, with only a few other emotions, only a couple even remotely close to being positive.

“I… can’t be mad at you for avenging yourself,” he said. “I’m sorry, I was not ready for this.”

“Don’t apologize.” She muttered, finding that getting all the blood off was harder than she thought, so she glanced at the shower. “Step out for a second so I can get all this off of me.”

“Got it,” he said, bending up and picking up Nikolai, who had poked his head around the corner to see what was going on. He carried him into his room, laying down and holding Nikolai close as he tried to come to term with everything that had happened. Alex had killed Dave. He wasn’t too caught off guard by that. But why was there so much blood on her? What had she done to kill him? Did she… take care of witnesses? Is that where the blood came from?

When the door closed Alex stepped into the shower, then let herself become full ghost, the blood dripping through her and to the tub floor. Then she stepped out, and turned the shower knob, cleaning it out completely with one solid hand. Once she was done, she rolled her shoulders and exited the bathroom. Once he heard the shower turn off, Gale let Nikolai go, who ran out and sniffed at Alex, looking a little spooked by her changed appearance. Gale didn’t get out of bed, though. Alex’s eyes locked onto Gale, and she went over to him, hesitantly, since she had a feeling he would not handle this as well as she did. To her, it was just blood. But to him, she didn’t even know. “Gale?” She asked semi-quietly. Gale stiffened, inhaling sharply, before he mostly relaxed, letting out a breath.

“You being invisible is a little scary, especially with how quiet you are,” he joked quietly, but he hadn’t fully relaxed. Alex read his body language easily, and almost felt guilty. But she knew the ones she had killed deserved what she had done to them.    
“If it makes you feel better, I only killed two people. Dave, and the gang boss.” She said, unsure if that would make it worse or not. Gale’s body fully relaxed then.

“That’s good, I was scared from how much blood was covering you. I was worried you had-”

“I know.”

“Falling to my death and then seeing you covered in blood is not a nice way to wake up, that’s for sure,” he chuckled, looking up at where Alex’s voice was coming from with a small smile.

Alex frowned. He had a nightmare? “You had a nightmare?” She mirrored her thoughts out loud. Instinctively in a protective way, she reached for his face. She could make his dreams much more pleasant, but only if she was there. And she hadn’t been. Gale leaned into her hand, closing his eyes and enjoying the touch, even if it was really cold.

“It’s okay, just a nightmare. I just fell from a tall building, that’s all. My nightmares love being about falling,” he murmured.

“I can change that, if you want.” Alex replied, “As long as I’m here.” She didn’t want to mention how she had manipulated his dreams without him knowing before. But Gale’s memory was bad, especially for his dreams, so he didn’t remember her appearing in his dream.

“That’s a neat power,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind not falling to my death,” he joked. Alex smiled, and closed her eyes, the space where her hand came into contact with his face began to glow green, and drowsiness flooded Gale. He let out a little hum of happiness, letting himself drift off and fall asleep, wondering what Alex would do with his dreams.


End file.
